Naruto Shingetsu: Books and Paint
It was a day like any other, birds were chirping, the sun was shining brightly as always, and the streets were filled with all sorts of individuals. Most people would have liked to spend their day outside doing something fun and exciting, but no, Soukyū had to spend his day at the library, helping out by reading to the local children, all courtesy of his mother. Honestly when she said I should go help I was for it, but now that I'm here... Soukyū didn't know what he should make of the situation. Sure the library was one of his favourite places to be, but that was before he had read every single book in place. It was getting a bit repetitive. He would much rather be outside painting the natural beauty that was their village. "I would do anything to get out of this place..." he murmured to himself, while being annoyed by the voices of multiple little girls and boys. "Kids are so annnoying..." he said, his voice filled with annoyance, with his face staring at the floor. Shina had a rare occurrence today. A day off! The upper management had taken note of the stress Shina had been under lately with the recent Yokai attacks, as the woman was working day in and day out to come up with an antidote so people would stop dying. She sighed, it was bad to think about work outside of work but...she couldn't help it, she cared too much. That's when she decided to stop in at the library, maybe a good book would take her mind off things for a little while. If not, she would go to her old friend known as Cherry Sake to help her forget. And then, turning the corner to the sound of children yammering, her eyes went wide, seeing her old friend, Soukyū. It appeared as though he was reading to the children...and he didn't seem all that pleased by the prospect. She walked up slowly, tapping the man on the shoulder from behind. "Soukyū-san! It's me, Shina!" She said, hoping to surprise the man with her sudden arrival. Soukyū, feeling the woman's hand tapping on his shoulder, quickly grabbed the nearest object he could find, the book he was reading to the children, and pointed it at the assailants neck. "Oh its just Shina..." Soukyū said as he sighed in relief, it was just one of his fellow comrades, Shina. "Y'know Shina, you shouldn't just go around sneaking behind people. I could have killed you..." Soukyū said in a rather concerned tone. Shina figured Sou would try something the moment she startled her, they had all be trained to be on a hair trigger reaction when touched from behind. So, Shina just stood there, smiling as Sou pointed the book at her throat, seemingly unfazed. "I know, but I trust you, and you wouldn't have killed me, trust me." She said, laughing a bit and taking a seat next to Sou on her knees, setting her bag down. "So, reading to the small ones huh? Your mom put you up this again?" She asked, watching the little humans run amok as parents and librarians tried to get control of the situation. It was kind of fun to watch honestly, sort of like a cartoon. "How have you been Sou-san?" She asked quietly. Soukyū's entire body instantly flushed white from the Hyūga's response about his threat. As she sat down, Soukyū quickly regained his composure and opened the book. "Yeah, she had me come down here to the library to help out yet again, she said it would be a good exercise and that I might meet a cute girl or whatever. Honestly I'm just annoyed right now, but thats enough about me. How have you been?" Soukyū replied. "And not too sound rude or anything, aren't you supposed to be at the hospital or something" he knew that it was extremely rare for her to not being obsessing over the place. Shina chuckled a bit as her friend paled in response to her declaration, leaning up against his chair now, the kids still going crazy around the library. Yeesh...if this is what kids are like, I'm not sure I want them. She thought idly. "Ah, sounds like Mom wants you to stop being lonely. Girls love an artistic man, at least, some of them do. And your smart, and fit...honesty Sou-san how are you still single?" She teased, leaning back a bit and sighing at the thought of being out of the hospital. "Yeah, on a normal day I would be there, but management thinks I've been working too hard. They gave me the day off...I just hope we don't get anymore Yokai victims while I'm off duty." She whispered, trying to keep their talking out of earshot of the children, not wanting to terrify them. "Don't worry Shina, I'm sure they can manage without you around." Soukyū said assuringly. Those damn Yōkai were becoming quite the problem, just last week Soukyū and his team were ambushed by the unholy beasts. Him and his team escaped but still...it was a close. He did not dare to mention this fact to Shina, worried that it may worsen her worrying. "So, how's that boyfriend of yours doing?" Soukyū asked jokingly, after all laughter was the best medicine. Shina nodded and rested her head on her hand. "I hope so." She said, blinking and chuckling a bit. "What boyfriend? Kumoi? Yeah right. I'm married to my work Sou-san. I don't have time to hook up with anyone." She said softly. "Though the other day, Kumoi admitted to me that he had a crush on me back in the academy, so that was something. Granted, he didn't do a good job of hiding it." She said softly. "That and all the other girls wouldn't let me live it down." She said with a laugh. "What about you huh? Tell me, how would your notebook feel if she knew you where going out all the time to spend time with your canvas. I bet she would be wildly jealous." She said, teasing him back now, suggesting that if she was married to his work, Sou was married to his art. "My notebook...heh? I guess I am married to my art." Soukyū laughed for a bit before saying "Listen, Shina I know that you love your job and all..." Soukyū stopped for a bit, closing his book. "But Shina your work shouldn't stop you from living your life, you can work at the hospital and have a love life." Soukyū said as he stood up. "I think I've been here for long enough, Shina how about we somewhere more...how shall I say, quiet." He had reached his limit with these kids, there was no way that he was going to spend another second listening to these noisy kids. Shina hung her head for a moment, thinking about his words, trying to come up with a good response. "I mean, I'm also trying to keep up as an actual ninja, not just a medic." She said, standing up with him and nodding in agreement. "Agreed...this is insanity." She said, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "The park? It's really nice out today, and the place is fairly empty." She suggested. Trying to discretely leaving the library so Sou wouldn't get in trouble was no problem at all, as everyone was distracted by the very loud children. I mean...can I really live my life knowing there are lives that need to be saved? That people are out there dying to the Yokai...no, not until I find a solution to this problem. she thought. "The park? That sounds like a great idea to me." And its quiet now that's a bonus, it'll just me, nature and...her. Soukyū quickly snapped back into"Huh, is something bothering you Shina?" he asked with a concerned, putting his on her shoulder. "Y'know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Shina snapped out of her mental stupor, turning back to Soukyū. "Huh? Oh I just...its nothing, just wondering how the girls are doing without me at work." She said, she was kind of like the Boss Mom with her team, she cared for them all, but was worried when she was 'out of the house' so to speak. In fact...When was the last time I had a day off? She wondered. She honestly couldn't remember, and that was because it had never really happened. "I'm sure there fine, I've taught them well." She said as the park started coming into view. "So...learned any new paint ninjutsu?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "Hmm...no, not really but I am working on something. Its still in its beta stage but its gonna be super badass once its finished." Soukyū said as they approached the park. It was just as Shina said the park was surprisingly empty today. And another thing that shocked him was the absence of her obsessive fan club. It was just him, her, and nature, although there was a few other individuals there but that did not matter. "Sooo...Shina did you finally tell off that group of fanboys?" Shina lifted a brow. "Oh really now? Well I can't wait to see your masterpiece then." she said, taking a seat on a nearby bench, patting the spot next to her, looking out at the nice empty view of the park, the lake off in the distance almost reflective due to the bright sunlight shinning off its surface. She snickered and shook her head. "No, I wouldn't have the heart to do that. But, they don't know that I have the day off, so I bet they are all still waiting outside the hospital for me to get off work." She said. "My boss made sure not many people knew about it so I could enjoy my day." She said, leaning back and letting her eyes wander up to the skies. "They mean well, honestly I think they have some of the same problem Orihime and Ayame have, but to a much lesser extent." She said, making not of their two obsessive friends. "They think I'm some kind of angel come down from heaven that can heal away their problems. Its really like something out of a manga or something." Soukyū sat down next to Shina. "This is a pretty nice spot you picked out. This would be perfect in one of my paintings." Soukyū proceeded to grab his custom scroll from his haori. Listening to everything Shina had to say "Well, I really don't know what to say, but what can you really do, huh? Its love." Soukyū replied. Shina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, its something alright." She said, looking out at the landscape they found themselves on, nodding. "Yeah, I come here from time to time when I manage to lose the fan club." She said. "I think Inochi needs to dive into the minds of those two and figure out what's going on insider their heads because that shit can't be healthy. I'm not a psychologist, but my medical professional instinct tells me something's not right with them. It was cute when we where in school, but now...its got a little out of hand, don't you think?" She said. She knew Sou was pretty reluctant in giving his opinion on things but she thought at least maybe, he would have something to say to this. "Well, I guess so... It is getting out of hand thats for sure." Soukyū said sounding a bit unsure. "But at the end of they're the ones who have to choose to let go of this crush on you. Like you can like someone without being too over the top about it, y'know." Damn, it Shina's making me all feely. Shina kept her eyes on the skies as she listened to Sou's opinion on things. "This is true, those are the people we call friends. People who care about each other, but don't love each other, like you and me." She said, smiling slightly. "I'm glad I have you guys in my life, I would've gone insane a long time ago without your support." She said. "Yeah...like you and me..." Soukyū murmured to himself, before being snapped back to reality by the Hyūga's words. "Shina? I'm also glad that I have you in my life. Anyway... I should probably get going before your boyfriend shows up. Kami knows what he'll do to me." Soukyū stood up, and began packing his art supplies. Shina smiled at Sou thankfully. "Aww, thanks." She said sweetly, looking at his bag and supplies, chuckling and rolling her eyes. "He's not my boyfriend!" She stated defiantly, helping Sou get his things together. "Alright, I think I'm gonna stay here for awhile, have a good day Sou-san!" "Same too you Shina!" Soukyū said while waving her goodbye. Y'know when I my Mom asked me to com to the library I didn't actually think I'd meet a cute girl. Well, I guess was wrong then. And better yet I got to spend the whole afternoon with her, Kumoi is not gonna be happy about this. Finally exiting the park Soukyū made a run for it, hoping to not run into Kumoi. -Fin-